Staffers at The Record, 2 other NJ news sites vote to unionize

Staffers at three New Jersey newspapers owned by Gannett voted Friday to jointly unionize.

The Record Guild — part of the NewsGuild of New York — represents editorial staff at The Record, the Daily Record and the New Jersey Herald. They organized over demands for better pay and health benefits, diverse hiring practices and a transparent and standardized system for promotion and pay raises.

Friday’s vote was 59-4, in an election run by the National Labor Relations Board.

“It is just a great day for our Guild, and I am proud of our members,” said Katie Sobko, a reporter for The Record the past 10 years who is one of the union organizers. “But our work doesn’t stop here.”

The union will represent 82 staffers across the three newsrooms. It went public in February, asking Gannett to recognize the union voluntarily. When the company declined, organizers filed for an election with the federal labor board.

“We respect the rights of our employees and their decision,” said Daniel Sforza, executive editor for the three publications and the New Jersey state editor for Gannett. “The Record and Gannett are committed to bargaining in good faith.”

Gannett bought The Record and North Jersey Media Group in 2016, and already owned the Daily Record. The Herald came into the company portfolio two years ago when GateHouse Media and Gannett merged.

The New Jersey papers are the latest in a string of newsrooms to unionize. The New York Daily News, Insider (formerly Business Insider), South Carolina’s The State, the Austin American-Statesman in Texas, and The Desert Sun, another Gannett paper in Southern California, all have taken similar votes this year.